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GDPs petition Number 10

More than 900 angry dentists and British citizens have signed an online e-petition in a desperate bid to scrap the new NHS dental contract once and for all.

The petition, created by GDP Mark Preston, reads: ‘We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to scrap the new NHS dental contract.’ It adds that the new contract, imposed on April 1 2006, was ‘untried and untested in the form it was implemented. It is unfair to both dentists and patients alike.’

So far, nearly 1,000 dentists have signed up with only the most recent 500 signatures highlighted on its home page.

Speaking exclusively to Dentistry, Preston said: ‘After signing up to a petition urging every British citizen to have access to a local NHS dentist within the lifetime of the next parliament, I decided that it was a great way to demonstrate our dissatisfaction with the new contract and the way it was introduced.’

He continued: ‘I then posted the details of my e-petition on the GDP-UK mailing list, and stuck a link to it on my website.’

Comments from the profession have been mainly positive, although there have been some declaring the idea a ‘waste of time’. Eddie Crouch, founding member of the pressure group Challenge and committee secretary for the Birmingham London Dental Committee (LDC), said: ‘A lot of people are being cynical about it but I think it’s important just to get dentistry back into the public’s profile.’

On what sort of impact the petition would have, Crouch said: ‘I’m not confident the Prime Minister will listen to the numbers but we can use it to highlight the dissatisfaction of the profession. I’m hoping it will raise a similar reaction to that of the road tax petition and embarrass the Prime Minister further.’ Meanwhile, talk of displaying posters to advertise the petition could be in the pipeline, with a view to ‘further boost the protests’.

England’s chief dental officer, Barry Cockcroft, was non-plussed. He said: ‘These reforms have given the NHS a firm basis for improving patient care, and give dentists a basis for providing good preventative care for their patients. We have no plans to scrap a system that is clearly working so well.’

Preston concluded: ‘I know that a large amount of dentists have signed up because I recognise most of the names, but I encourage anyone to vote if they agree with it – to make an impact the petition has to have 20,000 signatures. But for evil to win, it only requires good men to do nothing. So if dentists can’t be asked to sign a petition like this, then we deserve what we get.’

The British Dental Association (BDA) said: ‘This petition clearly reflects the frustration and anger which is widespread across the profession. The BDA will continue to tell government exactly what's wrong with the contract and actively support its members through this time of uncertainty.’

Those intending to sign up must be a British citizen or resident, and the deadline is 3 April 2007. If you would like to sign up to the petition, visit http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/nhsdentistry/DQqSftDai5eaCNc8bVA8vNR.